Charcot foot is damage your foot suffers due to a delay in treatment of an injury to the foot which leads to more damage occurring to your foot overtime. If you are a diabetic who suffers from diabetic foot neuropathy you are at risk from suffering a Charcot foot injury. This is because your diabetic foot neuropathy leads to decreased sensation and feeling in your foot, meaning you may not be able to tell you have an injury to the foot.
This is also why it is critical for medical care providers to rule out a foot fracture when someone who has diabetic foot neuropathy suffers trauma to their foot. If not this can lead to the development of Charcot foot and other severe complications.
Diabetic Neuropathy and Foot Fractures
As someone who has diabetic neuropathy, you may not present with the typical pain complaints when you suffer a foot or heel fracture. (A heel fracture is also known as a calcaneal fracture or a fracture to the calcaneus bone). However, you may have other symptoms that should lead your treaters at a hospital emergency room or urgent care center to consider and rule out a fracture. Your foot may have ongoing swelling, bruising, and redness. The nature of your injury should also indicate whether a foot or heel fracture should be ruled out. For example, if someone dropped something heavy on your foot. Or if you fell from a large height and landed on our feet.
In the above scenario, as someone who has diabetic neuropathy it is incumbent on any medical care provider who sees you to rule out a foot fracture. This does not just involve taking X-Rays of your foot. Your medical care provider may be required to order a CT scan or MRI of the foot, and to immobilize the foot until you get the CT or MRI results. How is your foot immobilized? Your doctor or other medical care provider will have your foot put in a boot or cast and make you non-weightbearing until a fracture can be ruled out. Non-weightbearing means you are not to put any weight on your affected foot.
If a fracture is not ruled out after you suffer a foot injury, this will result in you walking on your broken foot and causing more damage to your foot. Unfortunately, because you have diabetic neuropathy you may not realize the worsening damage caused to your foot. Whereas someone who does not suffer from this condition will be able to notice the increasing and worsening pain they are having in their foot. As a result, you will eventually develop Charcot foot.
If your Charcot foot is not timely treated the joints in your foot can collapse. This can lead to extensive surgery and limited use of the foot. In extreme cases you may require amputation of the foot. This is why, as noted above, if you are someone who has diabetic foot neuropathy and you suffer an injury to your foot, it is critical that your medical care providers rule out a foot fracture.
How can you determine if your doctors and other medical care providers were negligent in not catching your foot fracture or other injury sooner?
There may have been X-Rays taken of your foot which showed a fracture that was missed. Or you may have presented with symptoms that should have led any reasonable medical care provider to consider and rule out a foot or heel fracture. Your attorney will obtain your medical records and review them with medical care experts in order to determine if there was negligence.
If you have a claim for medical malpractice because you had a foot fracture that progressed to Charcot foot there are various types of damages you can recover. The first is the pain and suffering for the extensive surgery you need, the limitations with your foot you may now have, or for needing your foot completely amputated because it was too damaged to save. You may require a cane or other assistive devices to get around, especially if you needed your foot amputated. You will also have a loss of independence you can recover for given the limitations you now have with your foot. You can recover any out of pocket medical costs you would have avoided, as well as any future medical costs you will now incur from managing your Charcot foot. You can recover lost wages if you are no longer able to do your job because of the limitations you now have with your foot.
Charcot foot claims are not limited to people suffering from diabetic neuropathy of course. As long as you can show you had an injury to your foot that was able to progress to Charcot foot because of the negligence of your medical care providers, you could have a medical malpractice claim against those medical care providers.
The Thistle Law Firm is experienced at handling claims involving delay in diagnosis and treatment of foot injuries. If you now suffer from Charcot foot due to a delay in treatment of a foot injury, the attorneys at the Thistle Law Firm are here to take your call and answer your questions at 215-568-6800.